


Honest

by vividder



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Character Study, One Shot, Short, Songfic, Thousand Foot Krutch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 12:57:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19273810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vividder/pseuds/vividder
Summary: A character study of Shiro based off of Thousand Foot Krutch's song "Honest".





	Honest

_ They say heaven is a place  _

_ Where our pain is washed away _

 

Space was everything Shiro imagined...and more.  Everything felt limitless. On the surface of the icy moon, Shiro could stand and see stars and planets into infinity.  Earth and its problems just slipped away like dust particles off his suit. 

 

_ With no room for all the torment _

_ Of choices that we've made _

 

In those moments that Shiro stood mesmerized by the vastness of the universe around him, things like his own illness seemed far less significant.  For most of the trip, when everything went quiet, thoughts of what he’d left behind crept into Shiro’s mind and refused to leave. Sorrow about throwing away his chances with Adam, guilt about abandoning Keith (who’d never had an adult in his corner that hadn’t abandoned him), all of that burrowed more deeply into Shiro’s every time he took a moment to himself.  By the end of the journey, he’d started wondering why he’d even taken this chance.

But those fears, those regrets, they melted away as he stared into the infinity around them, as Commander Holt put a hand on his shoulder from behind and Shiro could practically feel him beaming with pride through the layers of spacesuits between them.

 

_ I'm a broken man, saved by grace _

_ Tossed alone inside this maze _

 

Shiro never expected to encounter the Galra, nor had he expected to leave them alive.

On Earth, talk of aliens was for conspiracy theories and sci-fi movies.  No one seriously expected other intelligent life to exist--after all, surely  _ something _ would have heard Earth’s noisy radio signals by now if that were the case.

But they’d forced him, Commander Holt, and Matt into their ship and taken them to another base, where the aliens had beaten and interrogated the humans.  Eventually, the Galra took Commander Holt from their cell.

Shiro never expected to see him again.

Matt went next.

Shiro wished he’d never had to attack Matt, but he couldn’t see any other way to save the only friend he had left from the horrors of the arena.  After what Shiro had witnessed, had gone through, he knew that Matt wouldn’t have a chance.

After all, something in the back of his mind always wondered where Commander Holt had really gone, whether or not he was really dead.

Then Shiro was alone.  The survivor of the ring.  The Champion.

He couldn’t have felt less proud of the mocking titles the Galra bestowed upon him.

By the time he’d escaped, he hadn’t expected to make it out alive.

He’d just never wanted to call his plan a suicide attempt.

 

_ And I am just a question _

_ To the answer you convey _

 

Everything had been unexpected after surviving.  The lions. The Paladins. The Alteans. 

But Keith’s actions, fighting alongside Shiro like a brother, surprised him most of all.

Keith didn’t say anything.  Didn’t get angry. Just treated Shiro the same way everyone else did.

To be honest, even if he had come back on schedule, Shiro would have half expected Keith to react the same way.

The kid didn’t linger on things that didn’t need it.

 

_ You've been all the way to broken _

_ Lost your sense of where to go _

 

From what Shiro gathered over their weeks and months together, Keith had been expelled from the Galaxy Garrison after Shiro had departed for Kerberos.  Another fight.

Shiro could understand that.

When you’ve been abandoned enough times, you don’t get close to anyone.

And as the memories of the arena began to come back to Shiro, the memories of the Galra, he felt the same urge to pull away.

The  _ brutality _ .  The things he’d done.

They’d just tried to survive!  Just like him!

The agony that burned with each recovered recollection made Shiro want to tear himself apart.

 

_ Yet love is still the answer _

_ More than hate will ever know _

_ It's not too late to be rescued _

_ Not too late to let it go _

 

But then Lance would call him Space Dad, or Pidge would show him her latest creation, or Hunk would ask for advice, or Keith would find Shiro, unable to sleep late at night, and just talk with him.

And Shiro knew that whatever he had done, he couldn’t let himself fall apart.

They couldn’t form Voltron without five Paladins.

Whatever he did in the past, he could atone for now by making sure it never happened again.

One planet at a time.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Italicized lyrics come directly from Thousand Foot Krutch's song "Honest".
> 
> This fic is dedicated to all those who mentor others. Thank you.
> 
> If you enjoyed the fic, a kudos or comment is greatly appreciated.


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